Social media sites posting trouble

GREEN BAY - The Sheboygan mayor in political hot water for inappropriate comments about his sister-in-law made in a bar and posted on YouTube. Two Calumet County deputies involved in unacceptable department behavior shared on Facebook. Two current examples of private moments, not so private anymore. Both embarrassments to their government agencies.

"It's a very public world now," said Susan Finco of Leonard Finco Public Relations. She advises clients to take advantage of social media sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to help their business, but individuals using the sites for sharing private thoughts should beware.

"You can't think for an instant that if you go on Twitter and criticize your employer they're not going to know about it so you got to think twice," said Finco.

With cell phone cameras today it's easy for anyone to eavesdrop on your conversations. But is it legal? Do you have any recourse, if what's captured here, ends up on YouTube?

"I don't think the courts have come to grips with whether somebody using a cell phone in a public place and recording video and posting it, whether that's really going to be a legal violation," said Tim Meyer, chairman of the communication department at UWGB. He says cells phones are easy tools to catch someone at their worst.

"In the digital age nothing is safe beyond the confines of your own home," said Meyer.

"I'm usually trusting of people I have on my Facebook," said college freshman Brittnay Bargenquast.

"I think you have to be careful not to look stupid," added fellow freshman Mary Anderson.

Does society today really need social media? Finco says, "Absolutely." But you need to figure out what you're going to do with.